Judge kills Samueli's guilty plea

Henry Samueli, billionaire Broadcom founder and Anaheim Ducks owner, and his wife Susan Samueli, leave Federal Court in September in this file photo.Photo by Michael Goulding, The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – A federal judge on Wednesday threw out the guilty plea of Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli, rejecting the government's charge against him of lying to investigators.

U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney made the unexpected ruling after hearing Samueli testify in the criminal accounting-fraud trial of Broadcom's former chief financial officer, William J. Ruehle.

Samueli, a billionaire philanthropist who also owns the Anaheim Ducks, pleaded guilty in June 2008 to lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission about his involvement with the granting of backdated stock options to Broadcom employees. He faced up to five years in prison – and was awaiting sentencing by Carney.

Carney's decision comes two days after Samueli's defense team asked the judge to dismiss the case against him, citing leaks to the media by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Stolper of private grand jury information.

Carney replied at the time that he was troubled by the allegation of government misconduct but wanted to hear Samueli testify before making a decision.

"I am going to set aside your guilty plea and I am going to dismiss your information against you," Carney told Samueli Wednesday. "I have looked at the plea agreement. I have listened to your testimony and you didn't make a false material statement."

"I'm very emotional," Samueli continued. "I'm sorry. First I have to say you are a wise and a great man ... the fact that you truly understand what happened to me. I came here to testify truthfully, and to best of my recollection. The fact you recognized what happened here, really says a lot."

Henry Samueli, billionaire Broadcom founder and Anaheim Ducks owner, and his wife Susan Samueli, leave Federal Court in September in this file photo. Photo by Michael Goulding, The Orange County Register
Henry Samueli testfies for the defense in the federal options-backdating trial of a former colleague at Broadcom, the company Samueli co-founded. ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM TOWNSEND, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
William Ruehle's defense lawyer, Richard Marmaro, asks Henry Samueli about the former chief financial officer at Broadcom Corp. Ruehle is on trial for securities fraud. ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM TOWNSEND, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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